Sveti apostol Toma (Heiliger Apostel Thomas) – Tomindan am 19. Oktober - svetazvezda

Sveti apostol Toma (Holy Apostle Thomas) – Tomindan on October 19

On October 19 (October 6 according to the Julian calendar), the Serbian Orthodox Church commemorates Sveti apostol Toma (the Holy Apostle Thomas). Among the people, the day is known as Tomindan. Sveti Toma is one of the twelve apostles of Isus Hristos and is known to many as Neverni Toma (Doubting Thomas). It was precisely through his doubt that he became one of the strongest witnesses of the Resurrection. Tomindan is an immovable feast and falls on the same date every year. Many Serbian families celebrate it as their Krsna Slava.

Who Was Sveti Toma?

The name Toma comes from Aramaic and means twin, which is why the Greek text of the Gospel also calls him Didymus. According to tradition, he came from Galilee. In the first three Gospels he is mentioned only in the list of the apostles. The Gospel of Jovan (John), by contrast, speaks of him several times and shows an upright, honest man who said what he thought.

When Isus Hristos wanted to return to Judea, where people sought His life, it was the words of Toma that led the other disciples to follow:

Хајдемо и ми да умремо с њим.
Let us also go, that we may die with Him.
– John 11:16

Toma may have doubted and may not have understood everything, but he was ready to stay with his Lord, even if it cost him his life.

From Doubt to Confession

When the risen Isus Hristos first appeared to the disciples, Toma was not with them. He refused to believe their testimony until he had seen and touched the wounds himself. Eight days later the Lord appeared again, this time with Toma in the room, and told him to place his hand in the wounds and to be not unbelieving, but believing. Then Toma cried out:

Господ мој и Бог мој!
My Lord and my God!
– John 20:28

The Church does not see this event as a disgrace to the apostle, but as a gift to all the faithful: through Toma's doubt, the Resurrection received a new, tangible confirmation. The answer of Isus Hristos is addressed to each of us to this day:

Блажени који не видеше и вероваше.
Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.
– John 20:29

This event is also remembered on Tomina nedelja (Thomas Sunday), the first Sunday after Vaskrs (Easter).

The Journey to India and Martyrdom

After the descent of the Holy Spirit, the apostles cast lots to decide where each would go to preach. Distant India fell to Toma. The Prologue from Ohrid by Saint Nikolaj Velimirović records that he was saddened by this until the Lord appeared to him and encouraged him. In India he converted both nobles and the poor to the faith, founded the Church and appointed priests and bishops.

Among those converted were the sisters Tertijana and Migdonija, wives of two Indian princes. Prince Muzdije, Tertijana's husband, whose wife and son Toma had baptized, condemned the apostle to death. Five soldiers pierced him with five spears. Thus the Holy Apostle Toma gave his soul into the hands of Isus Hristos. In the fourth century his relics were transferred to Edessa and later to Constantinople.

Toma and the Mother of God

Another tradition connects Sveti Toma with the Uspenje Presvete Bogorodice (Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos). All the apostles were miraculously brought to Jerusalem for her burial, but Toma arrived too late. He wept bitterly, and at his request the tomb was opened. The body of the Mother of God was no longer there, for the Lord had taken her to Himself in heaven. Thus Toma bore witness to the Resurrection of the Lord through his unbelief, and to the glorification of the Mother of God through his late arrival.

Tomindan as a Slava

Many Serbian families celebrate Tomindan as their Krsna Slava and pass it on from generation to generation. On the feast day they gather for the Liturgy, the slavski kolač is cut, the Slava candle burns, and the family honors its patron saint with prayer and hospitality. Because, according to tradition, Sveti Toma was also a skilled woodworker, carpenters, coopers, wheelwrights and masons once celebrated him as their guild Slava.

Customs and Folk Beliefs

A well-known old saying is Sveti Toma, sedi doma (Saint Toma, stay at home). Following this custom, on Tomindan people go nowhere except to church. In times of drought, the people prayed to Sveti Toma for rain, and in some regions it was believed that he protected people and livestock from wolves. To this day, someone who doubts and demands proof is called a neverni Toma.

A Feast for All Who Seek

Sveti Toma shows that doubt does not have to be the end of faith. He asked honestly, he searched honestly, and when he met Isus Hristos, the doubter became an apostle who carried the faith all the way to India and gave his life for it. Tomindan reminds us that God comes to meet the person who seeks Him.

For the Slava and the Home

For families who celebrate Tomindan and for all who venerate Sveti Toma:

Svetazvezda Icon Sveti Apostol Toma, in two sizes
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Svetazvezda framed icon in DIN A4 format, variant Sveti Apostol Toma
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Modlice for the slavski kolač, 12-piece set Sveti Toma
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Modlica for the slavski kolač, single icon Sveti Toma
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Slava candle
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Свети апостоле Томо, моли Бога за нас.
Holy Apostle Toma, pray to God for us.

Срећна слава свима који славе Томиндан!
A blessed Slava to all who celebrate Tomindan!

Sources

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